[Setup-tool-hackers] Where XST is going, Debian and other things.

[Jose Carlos Garcia Sogo <jsogo debian org>]

  Hello!

   I'm the current mantainer of XST in Debian. I should have subscribed
 before to this list, but well you know... too many email yet. (But I'm
 now susbcribed :)

   Well about Chema's post I only can say that focusing a bit more in
 Debian is really great. I'll try to provide you as much as help as I
 could, and I'm sure that Debian users also will help you a lot. Of
 course other distributions must be also taken into account, but I think
 that you should try to get some support of them.

   About the integration with other Debian tools, would be great that
 backends guys and PGI worked together in that part. Integration with
 debconf will be perhaps more difficult. Debconf is aimed to provide a
 consistent configuration system through all Debian packages, and XST
 are more focused in desktop user. I think that XST can be a great tool
 for a project called Debian Desktop, or something like that, which
 installed a GNOME desktop by default and aimed to users who don't need
 to know a lot about Linux to use it, but not for the main project. We
 cannot think about writing backends for all the packages that use
 debconf for their configuration.

   IMHO some things could be done that will help to spread the use of
 XST, not only in Debian but also among other distributions:

     - Put backends into an independient CVS module, and call them 
     with a generic name (not GNOME related)

     - Make a nice front-end for GNOME (continuing the work has been
     made yet :) 

     - Make a KDE front-end (yeah, I'm not kidding). Of course this
     won't be the work of the group of people that right now is here,
     but I think that this should be talked with KDE people. If backends
     are completely independient, they shouldn't have any problem with
     making that front-end.

   I think that this will make XST use spread a lot, as vendors such as
 Mandrake could use it in the desktop. Of course both KDE and GNOME
 front ends should be consistent, so I think that exchanging ideas
 between the both groups could be really great.
   If somebody here knows some KDE people, he could ask them what they
 think about this point. Working twice in the same is a pity, and this
 is one of the main advantages of Free Software.

   Well, it is great to see that XST won't die. I was a bit worried
 because I wasn't seeing almost any movement in their development, and
 it would be a pity that such a great tools were trhown into the trash.
 I really hope you can find enough people to go on with this work.

  Thanks

   José Carlos García Sogo
     jsogo@debian.org

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